Dorothy West, The Living is Easy

Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

When Dorothy West's first novel, 

The Living Is Easy

, was published in 1948, the United States was emerging from the war years and was still haunted by the collapse of its economy in the 1930s. During these decades, black writers were encouraged by publishers to move away from questions of social justice, even though the period saw persistent racialized social unrest. Prevailing social policies in the United States and its publishing industry during the 1940s emphasized an ideology which Philip Butcher, in a 1948 review of West's novel in 

Opportunity

 magazine, referred to as “raceless writers”. Dorothy West's title for her novel, 

The Living Is Easy

, suggests that she was aware of this optimistic mood, even as in her novel she ironically undercuts such winsomeness. The race and…

882 words

Citation: Jimoh, A Yemisi. "The Living is Easy". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=310, accessed 28 March 2024.]

310 The Living is Easy 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.